Team America ArticleTaken from Movie Call Friday, June 27, 2003: Parker & Stone vs. The Thunderbirds by E.L. Splice |
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So this story broke a few days ago but I wanted to make sure I did a little write up on it. For those who aren't familiar with the work of Trey Parker And Matt Stone ( a.k.a. Matt Stone and Trey Parker ) Itıs time for you to get familiar with them. If you're reading this site you're probably in touch with popular culture enough to recognize their Comedy Central show South Park but additionally these two have produced some of the funniest bullshit in recent memory. In alphabetical order: Bowling for Columbine, Cannibal the Musical, The Orgazmo Theme Song, The good intentioned but surreally frightening "That's My Bush" and the infamous "Uncle Fucker" song just to name a few. "I don't want to sound queer or nothin'" but I think they lay down some of the best comedy in Hollywood, mainly because they hate Hollywood. Case in point: The Thunderbirds live action movie. The Thunderbirds. Whether you've ever seen an episode or not, they are in your brain. The cult classic TV show where Howdy Doody meets Tom Corbett: Space Cadet. Wooden puppets flying spaceships to save the world. A truly unique vision so primal in nature that it is instantly accessible and simultaneously incomprehensible. For better or worse The Thunderbirds' day has come and gone and will never be revisited... or so you thought! Jonathan Frakes is currently shooting a fucking live action Thunderbirds movie with real people, zero puppets. Does the name Jonathan Frakes sound familiar? Number One from Star Trek the Next Generation? Didn't know he was a director? Of course you did! Who didn't run out to see the 2002 classic Clockstopppers?? I digress now if you're saying to yourself, "Why would they make a Thunderbirds movie and take out the only thing that made the series unique? " You're not alone. In fact, Trey Parker and Matt Stone beat you to the punch. Being long time fans of the series, they were outraged at the lack of lumber that would be used in the making of the film. What's the logical way to strike back? Steal the Thunderbirds thunder. Make a movie with an all puppet cast! Quote: "Our cast will deliberately be made of wood, but that will only be taking to the extreme what is evident in many Hollywood movies right now." They haven't said much about the story right now. Just that it will be called Team America and it will parody movies like Jerry "The Man, The Myth, The Legend" Bruckheimer's action crap but the kicker to this story was the original plan the duo had cooked up. Quote: "It all started when we got snuck a script of 'The Day After Tomorrow,' that Roland Emmerich movie about how global warming causes an ice age in two days. It's the kind of script where you know it's going to make hundreds of millions of dollars, which makes it the greatest dumb script ever. "We planned to secretly shoot that movie with puppets, word for word, and release it on the same day. We thought that have been hilarious but our lawyer convinced us we wouldn't get it released." Classic. I guess I feel a kinship with this kind of humor. Things that are self-aware of their own stupidity and within in that awareness is a searing dagger into the heart of mediocrity. Stone and Parker don't always connect but I love the overtones of cynicism throughout their work. THUNDERBIRDS are going to burn in hell. |
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